Grey Cup party in Teeterville

Fans, friends and family members of Calgary Stampeders Shane Bergman gathered for a special Family Day Grey Cup party on Monday. Family members in this photo include (back row left to right) Colleen Littlewood, Mike Bergman, Tammy Bergman, Shane Bergman, Justin Bergman, (front row) Nicola Pasquale, Brianne Bergman, Lacy and Kevin Geerts.Vincent Ball / The Expositor

The people of Teeterville had a special guest at their community-wide Family Day party. Shane Bergman and the Grey Cup, the trophy of Canadian Football League supremacy, made a return trip to the Norfolk County community on Monday. Bergman is a Teeterville native and two-time Grey Cup winning offensive lineman with the Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the Cup in 2014 and in 2018. “I’m just so happy to be able to bring the Cup home again,” said Bergman, who spent four hours posing for photographs at a special party held at the Teeterville Fire Hall. “I grew up here watching CFL games and following a lot of the players. This community means so much to me and it means a lot to me to be able to share the Cup with everyone for a day.” Although it’s hard to say how many people attended the event, the Family Day/Grey Cup party started at 10 a.m. and continued until 2 p.m. with people lined-up for photographs the entire time. Katherine Deyne, 33, was just one of the many people to line-up for a photo with Bergman and the Grey Cup. She grew up and went to school with Bergman but it was still a big deal for her to get a photograph and autograph. “He’s from here, a small community in Norfolk and look at what he’s accomplished,” Deyne said. “But what’s really special is that he’s still a big part of this community and is so good to people. “The whole family is like that.” Gary Taylor, Teeterville’s Deputy Fire Chief, helped organize the Grey Cup party and was busy quarterbacking all of the businesses that donated food for the event. “This is a real community event,” Taylor said. “I bet just about everyone from Teeterville and Vanessa are here today and we got a lot of support from local businesses. “They all wanted to contribute.” Supporters of the event included Domino’s Pizza – Simcoe, Robin and Paul Reitz, of Ritzy Cakes and Eatery in Waterford, Tim Hortons, Nelson Foods and Wilkinson’s Your Independent Grocer in Delhi. “The fact that he’s gone on to win two Grey Cups is a big deal but there are a lot of reasons people want to support this and it all has to do with Shane,” Taylor said. “He’s got a heart of gold. “He’d do anything he could to help someone out.” In the off-season, Bergman helps coach local teams and he visits schools. Everybody in the community knows him and what he’s done. “This is a pretty small community and it’s great to see one of our own do so well,” Taylor said. “It’s like Burford has Adam Henrique, Simcoe has Rob Blake and we’ve got Shane Bergman.” Shawn and Crystal Lord brought their sons Riley and Luka to the party. Crystal was wearing an autographed Bergman Calgary Stampeders jersey – a game worn jersey they won at the buck and doe held for Bergman and his wife, Brianne. “We wanted our boys to meet him,” Shawn said after getting a family photo with Bergman. Still, while it was great to get a picture and see Bergman again, Shawn said he doesn’t think his boys will play in the CFL. “I think they’re going to be hockey players,” he said. Vball@postmedia.com twitter.com/EXPVBall